China will advance new urbanization and coordinated regional development in 2025, according to a government work report delivered by Premier Li Qiang on Wednesday.
Delivering the report at the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Li said China expects to further improve the spatial layout of its development through measures in multiple areas.
"We will thoroughly implement strategic initiatives for new urbanization. Well-conceived and systematic measures will be taken to grant permanent urban residency to people moving to cities from rural areas. Moreover, we will ensure that they have full access to basic public services in their place of permanent residence; and we will intensify support to see that children living with them receive compulsory education in cities. We will also enable those eligible to join the housing support system and see that they have smooth access to social security programs," said the premier.
"Sustained efforts will be made for urban renewal schemes and the renovation of old urban residential compounds to build livable, resilient, and smart cities," he added. "We will redouble efforts to implement regional strategies. We will create greater synergy between the coordinated regional development strategy, major regional strategies, and the functional zoning strategy, so as to foster new growth poles," said Li.
"We will support major provincial economies in assuming greater responsibility, and encourage other regions to fully tap into their local conditions and distinctive strengths in pursuing development. Efforts will be made to promote deeper industrial collaboration between eastern, central, western, and northeastern regions," said Li.
The third session of the 14th NPC is scheduled for March 5 to 11.
China to advance new urbanization, coordinated regional development in 2025: report
The long-term economic sanctions imposed by the United States on Venezuela have hindered the Latin American country's development gravely despite its abundant crude oil resources, a Venezuelan expert said recently.
Venezuela holds the world's largest proven oil reserves. According to a poll on December 2 by a Venezuelan research institute, 90 percent of respondents believe the true purpose behind recent U.S. threats is to overthrow the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and seize the country oil resources.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Venezuela's oil reserves stand at 303 billion barrels, approximately one-fifth of the world's total crude oil reserves and the largest known single deposit globally.
Currently, Venezuela's daily crude oil production hovers around 1 million barrels.
Despite the rich natural resources, Venezuela's GDP ranks in the lower-middle tier among the South American nations, a result from years of heavy U.S. economic sanctions.
"The scope of U.S. sanctions is extremely broad. They prohibit free trade, prevent the free exchange of technologies, and restrict the free flow of currencies, all of which are crucial for any nation's development. Furthermore, persistent military and psychological threats from the United States have hindered the national development and deterred international investment in Venezuela. Compounded by the U.S. government's forced border closures, foreign capital faces numerous barriers to enter Venezuela," Ramiro Royero, a professor at the School of Petroleum Engineering of Central University of Venezuela, said in a recent interview with the China Central Television (CCTV) . Royero said that while the United States is an oil-producing nation itself, it maintains high demand for Venezuelan crude. This stems from Venezuela's supply of heavy crude oil, which the United States lacks, creating strong market complementarity.
Royero said that due to insufficient domestic heavy crude oil production, the U.S. refineries rely heavily on imports to efficiently produce heavy diesel, marine fuel oil, lubricants, and asphalt.
Venezuela's production costs are lower due to different production methods, with some projects costing less than 20 U.S. dollars per barrel, far below U.S. production costs.
Royero said Venezuela is a sovereign country and is able to solve its own problems without foreign intervention.
"Despite sanctions, threats, and the current woes, Venezuela maintains daily crude exports of approximately 200,000 barrels, accounting for about 27 percent of U.S. crude imports from South America. This positions Venezuelan as a vital global crude supplier of refined products, particularly for that of the United States. The purpose of U.S. military actions is twofold: geopolitical control and economic dominance over Latin America's raw materials. However, Venezuela is a sovereign country which will resolve its domestic problems independently and advance steadily without external interference," said Royero.
US long-term sanctions shackle Venezuela's development: expert
